The hummingbird capital of the United States.

One of the Sky Islands

Southeastern Arizona's Sky Islands are isolated mountain ranges that rise like forested islands from a sea of desert and grassland. Climb one and the habitat shifts from desert to oak woodland to pine and fir, stacking many life zones into a few thousand feet — which is why so much life concentrates here.

The Huachuca Mountains are among the richest of these ranges, and Ramsey Canyon is their world-renowned heart: an ecological crossroads where species from the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Madre of Mexico, and the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts all overlap. A permanent spring-fed stream keeps the canyon cool and green year-round, supporting 170+ bird species, up to fourteen hummingbirds, and wildlife from black bear to coatimundi — and earning it status as a National Natural Landmark.

Just steps from the inn's front door lies the canyon's crown jewel: the Nature Conservancy's Ramsey Canyon Preserve, roughly 380 acres of spring-fed riparian forest the Conservancy has protected since 1974. A National Natural Landmark and one of southern Arizona's most beloved nature-viewing areas, it shelters more than twenty rare and sensitive species, and the Hamburg Trail climbs from the visitor center straight into the high Huachucas. The preserve is open Thursday through Monday — closed Tuesday and Wednesday — from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (March–October) and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (November–February); a modest admission supports its stewardship, and Conservancy members enter free.